An Apology
by tudor-rose445
Summary: Set in the 2004 Movie. Christine apologizes to Erik on the trip back to her dressing room. Taken place after Stranger Than You Dreamt It. Some EC fluff. Please r&r! FINISHED


AN: Hello everyone! This is just a little one shot. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer- I own nothing. "Phantom of the Opera" is owned by Gaston Leroux and the movie is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Joel Schumacher.

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There was no sound except for the lapping of the water on the boat and the sound of the wooden pole in Erik's hand moving swiftly through the water during Christine's ride back to her dressing room.

She fiddled with her hands in her lap and turned her head quickly to steal a glimpse at Erik.

He was not looking at her, only staring straight ahead of them. His mouth was set in a firm, straight line as he pushed the pole through the water.

Christine quickly turned away from him, fixing her attention on the small ripples the boat was making in the water. She had been terrified earlier when Erik had yelled at her.

She didn't know that he was capable of yelling since he had always been so gentle with her.

He could be a little strict, such as reprimanding her for not hitting a note right while he was still giving her lessons, but that was all. She felt terrible for taking off his mask, for getting him angry.

She chanced another look at him, keeping her eyes on him longer than she had before. He must have felt her gaze on him, because he took his eyes off of the water ahead of them, and looked at her.

She pulled away from him gaze after a few moments and focused her attention on her hands.

She looked through the mist floating atop the water and could see the form of the land protruding from the darkness.

She took and deep breath and opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm….. I'm sorry," she managed to say, turning to look at Erik. "Whatever for?" Erik asked her, looking at her.

She sighed. Why was he making this harder for her? She had been trying to gather enough courage to apologize for the last 10 minutes. Now she would have to keep on speaking.

"For everything," she said. "I.. I mean, for going against your trust, for acting like a lady should not." Here she stopped, pulling the edge of her night dress down a bit more to cover the rest of her leg.

Earlier, she had been in an almost hypnotic state, completely forgetting to keep her legs covered and such. She blushed just remembering. She felt his gaze on her, directed toward her now covered leg.

"And… I'm sorry for taking off your mask," she said, looking away from him. She closed her eyes tightly, wringing her hands in her lap… waiting for him to yell, to reprimand her for not listening to him.

But the yelling that she expected never came. There was only silence. She looked around at him again, but he was staring straight ahead.

She sighed and jumped in surprise as the boat gently hit the shore. Erik stepped out of the boat and picked up a coil of rope that was on the ground.

He quickly secured the boat to the wooden post that stood on the edge of the shore, and leaned the rowing pole against the wall.

He extended his gloved hand to her, staring into her eyes. She hesitated for a moment, but, after looking into his piercing gaze, she put her hand in his.

He pulled slightly on her hand, helping her get up from the boat. She lifted one leg out of the boat leaving her left one still in it. Her left leg wobbled a little, causing the boat to rock.

Her free hand went out to grasp something to steady herself, but Erik's other hand had already caught hold of her elbow, holding her in place.

She brought her other leg out and murmured a quiet "Thank you" to him. He nodded slightly, showing her that he acknowledged what she had said, and started up the path.

They walked in silence, the only noise being Erik's boots hitting the ground. She kept her eyes downcast, making sure not to trip on any stones on the path.

Erik came to an abrupt halt at the mirror leading to her dressing room, causing Christine to bump into him. She blushed and moved away from him, her hand still in his.

"I… I better go back inside," she said after a few moments of silence.

"Meg and Madame Giry must be worried." She moved to walk closer to the mirror, but could not move more then a few feet since her hand was still in his.

Her brown eyes flickered up to his for a moment and then looking toward the mirror.

"It's fine," he said suddenly. She turned back to him, her forehead crumpled in confusion. He noticed her look and quickly said, "I forgive you."

She gave him a soft smile, happy that he was no longer mad. She looked down at her hand, only then noticing that his thumb was caressing her knuckles.

She shivered slightly as she watched his gloved hand. His other hand went to her arm, gently running his gloved fingertips over it. She closed her eyes for a moment, not moving away from him.

He smiled slightly to himself. He had noticed early on that she was very vulnerable when he was around her.

He took his hand off her arm and pushed back her hair which had fallen to one shoulder. She opened her eyes after feeling that his arm was no longer there.

Her gaze flickered over to the mirror for a moment, but she made no attempt to move away. Needing to grasp her attention again, he sang,

_Night-time sharpens,  
heightens each sensation . . .  
Darkness stirs and  
wakes imagination . . .  
Silently the senses  
abandon their defenses . . ._

She took a deep breath, relaxing at the sound of his voice. Her eyes began to glaze slightly, telling him that she was under his control once again.

He smiled inwardly to himself as he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. He turned his head slightly, looking back toward the passageway that lead to his lair. Maybe he could take her back, and she could stay for a few days longer……

The thought vanished from his mind as he heard Madame Giry's clearly annoyed voice down the hallway from Christine's dressing room. "What do you mean she is not there?" she asked, to whom Erik guessed, Meg.

"I tried to tell you last night," came Meg's equally annoyed voice. "But you wouldn't listen to me! She wasn't in the dormitories either." "Don't use that tone with me Meg," Madame Giry said in a commanding tone of voice.

Erik quickly unlatched the mirror and went inside the dressing room. He pulled on Christine's hand gently, getting her to walk to him.

The hypnotic look had now left her eyes as she looked around the room. He held her hand loosely in his, taking a moment to say softly, "I will see you soon my dear."

He brought her hand up close to him, and kissed it, provoking a blush from her.

He turned around with a sweep of his cloak and went through the mirror, closing it behind him.

He watched as Madame Giry stepped into the room, Meg standing behind her. "Goodness child!" Madame Giry said, leading Christine toward the door. "You gave me quite a fright. Come now, you should rest."

Christine exited the room, being lead down the hallway by Meg. Madame Giry stood in the room a moment longer, her eyes straying toward the mirror.

She rested her gaze on it, and then turned and walked out of the room.

Erik stayed where he was for a moment and then turned back to the path. He looked back at the mirror, singing softly to himself:

_You alone can make my song take flight  
help me make the music of the night . . _

And with those words, he turned back to the path, letting a small smile flit across his face.

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An: Well, I hoped you all liked it. Thanks for reading, and please review! 


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